Today’s show: The art of Shaun Tan

Continuing cross cultural comics month on the show: Alex Fitch talks to Australian artist Shaun Tan about his work, including his award winning graphic novel The Arrival which tells tales of immigrants arriving in fantastical worlds and was loosely based on his Malaysian family’s history and his new book Tales from Outer Suburbia, which superbly mixes a whole variety of story telling techniques from comic strips, to poetry and collage. Alex and Shaun talk about breaking into the illustration business, the art of designing books and the influence of Raymond Briggs on Shaun’s work.

London Underground Comics’ latest event takes place at the 176 Project Space in Chalk Farm, London and features over 40 of the UK and beyond’s finest small press creators selling their wares in one of north London’s most beautiful gallery spaces.
Free tea and coffee, live DJs, animation projected on the 40 foot wall of the gallery and much more.

An exhibition of Shaun (The Arrival) Tan’s prints, and 4 original pastels, is on at
The Illustration Cupboard at 22 Bury Street, SW1Y 6AL until 22nd June
More info at www.illustrationcupboard.com

plus:

Orbital Manga is hosting a rare and exclusive signing with Manga Artist BENJAMIN (writer and artist for the stunning manga book “Orange” by Tokyopop)

Benjamin is a phenomenal mainland China artist, whose stunning digital art adorns in his Art Book Xiao Pan’s, “FLASH”. His artistic style really catches the eye, and every panel in “Orange” is painted, brush style in colour with great detail.

He’ll be demonstrating his remarkable technique and signing copies of his books including the limited edition landscape-format hardback of “Orange”, his latest lavish art book “Flash”, Chinese Youth, Remember, One Day (in French) and Images and Prints on the day of the signing.

A new movement, La Nouvelle Bande Dessinée, has swept through French comics – the equivalent of La Nouvelle Vague in cinema – expanding their styles and subjects exponentially. Now two of its most dynamic members, both winners of Angoulême Essentials Awards, have their acclaimed graphic novels in English.

Émile Bravo draws My Mommy about a young son’s yearning for his vanished mother and brings historical relevance and pathos to Belgian classic Spirou.

Biographer Emmanuel Guibert chronicles one American G.I.‘s experiences in Alan’s War. In The Photographer he collaborates with photographer Didier Lefèvre to record his mission in Afghanistan with Doctors without Borders.

In conversation with Comica Festival director Paul Gravett. Followed by book signings.

Where: Nash Room, ICA, The Mall, London
When: Saturday, June 20, 2009 – 6.30pm to 8pm
More info at www.comicafestival.com